Ex-Cape official pleads guilty in impostor case

BOSTON — A former, part-time Chatham assistant harbor master faces two years of probation after pleading guilty yesterday to one count of falsely impersonating a federal agent.

DAVID KIBBE

BOSTON — A former, part-time Chatham assistant harbor master faces two years of probation after pleading guilty yesterday to one count of falsely impersonating a federal agent.

Stephen Grant, 48, of Rockland, was boarding a flight from Logan International Airport to San Diego in January 2007 when he flashed his assistant harbor master badge and told security personnel he was working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Grant also said he was armed, and filled out paperwork required to fly while armed.

"The fact, however, was that the defendant was not an agent of the Department of Homeland Security, and he was not carrying a weapon," William Weinreb, an assistant U.S. attorney, told Judge Joseph L. Tauro.

Grant was able to bypass normal security and was told the identity of people onboard who were carrying firearms. He was also shown into the cockpit on his return flight, as per regulations for armed agents.

Grant, who will be sentenced on May 12, could serve up to six months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. Weinreb said the U.S. Attorney's Office took into account that it was his first offense and he had already paid a civil fine when agreeing to a sentence of probation. Weinreb called the impersonations "a really bad judgment call" on Grant's part.

Grant is a local sales director for a medical equipment company. He worked part-time, mostly as a seasonal employee, at the Chatham Harbor Master's Office in 2005 and 2006. He was a boat operator and assistant harbor master. His Chatham personnel records indicate he was terminated in the spring of 2007.

Weinreb said far from being a federal Homeland Security agent, Grant's duties were to make sure "that the people on the water behaved properly."

Grant and his lawyer, Eric Kupperstein, declined comment as they left the courtroom.

Grant told the Cape Cod Times in November that he innocently handed his identification case to an American Airlines ticket agent at Logan. He said the identification case included his assistant harbor master's badge, and the agent gave him a flying-while-armed form to fill out.

"I wasn't testing the system," Grant told The Times. "I made an honest mistake and it snowballed."

He said he thought the case had been settled when he paid a $4,000 civil fine.

On Grant's return flight, he told a flight attendant he was flying while armed and was escorted into the cockpit. Capt. Edwin Roberts Jr. became suspicious because Grant did not have the proper paperwork. Grant was still allowed to board the plane after airline personnel filled out the paperwork.

Weinreb said the Transportation Security Administration "went into a little bit of panic and almost grounded the flight" when officials learned of the problem.

State Police met Grant when the plane landed at Logan.

The incident resulted in the TSA adding more layers of security to prevent it from occurring again.

Grant had also previously listed his occupation as "Homeland Security" when he applied to Rockland police for a gun permit in October 2006, and he wore a T-shirt with a Department of Homeland Security logo on it for his gun permit photo.

Investigators said he also listed his employment as "Homeland Security" on a form he filled out to buy a handgun just 10 days before the Jan. 1, 2007, flight to San Diego.

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